The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 17 - Escape

My mother was kept on the second floor and was normally surrounded by at least three guards, but father's command to actively search the grounds for any intruders had dropped that to two, removing the guard that watched the door.

Standing just around the corner to the hall that led to my mother's room, Hazel and I were going over our plan once again. I could sneak into my mother's room easily. It was getting us both out that was hard.

Quietly, I crept past the soldier guarding the entrance to the hallway. At the door to my mother's room, I watched her maid enter the room. I followed close behind and stood in the corner of the room. The maid pulled out a cloth and wiped the dirt off of my mother's body. She then pulled out a small phial of clear liquid from one of her pockets and stared at it for a moment.

"I can't do this any more." She whispered in a rough, gargled voice. Opening the phial, she poured it on the ground and pulled out another, larger bottle and trickled a small amount of that liquid into mother's mouth. Closing the phial, she put it back into her pocket and bowed her head. "I am sorry for all I have done."

The maid then left. I stepped over to the puddle of liquid that she had poured onto the ground, crouched down and was surprised that, even in this low light, I could see it completely discolor the floor, leaving a pit in the wood. She had been poisoning m mother, but at who's command.

Standing, I took a deep breath and removed my invisibility ring, sliding it onto my mother's hand. I rubbed the ring three times and watched as my mother popped out of sight. As she was malnourished, I could carry my mother with relative ease. Hefting her over my shoulder, I crept through the doorway and snuck over to where the soldier was guarding. If he glanced behind him, he would see me immediately.

Now at the next stage of our plan, I crouched down in the shadows and scratched at the wood, signaling Hazel to act.

"Sir, come quick!" Came Hazel's voice from just outside the hall. "Something terrible has happened."

I watched the guard leave his post and approach Hazel who was standing a good distance away, giving me enough time and room to sneak away.

"What is it, miss?" The guard asked, concerned.

"It's Prince Malcolm. He called me to his room." She started, feigning panic with great skill. "I accepted and went to see him, but after he let me in, something invisible took him and leapt off of the balcony."

"Something invisible!" The guard responded, shocked. "I have to inform His Majesty!" The guard ran off, leaving Hazel behind.

With this obstacle out of the way, our pathway down was cleared. There were other obstacles, but they would be less of an issue. Using Hazel as a lookout to avoid any more obstacles, the three of us worked our way down to the ground floor. This is where the last major obstacle awaited us. The cart that took food into the capital was in the back of the castle courtyard, just outside of the kitchens. There was no easy way to get my mother and I back there without drawing a lot of attention.

In order to get through this, I had to stay hidden. Father had to think that I had died the same as Faria. As much as I didn't like it, there was no way around it. I had to let Hazel take mother to the cart by herself. Carefully, I handed mother over to her. To my surprise, she didn't seem to be bothered by the weight whatsoever.

Seeing my surprise, Hazel grinned and patted at her arms, explaining. "They have us carry lots of things heavier than this. Don't worry about me."

Shifting my mother around, Hazel started towards the kitchen, holding mother on her back so that she could walk less conspicuously. Watching her go, I knew that I could trust her, despite the tightness in my chest.

My job was now to get to the cart unnoticed. It would normally be very easy to sneak around the castle grounds at this time of day, since the sun was just over the horizon, casting large shadows across the ground. What made the situation difficult, however, was the increase of guards patrolling the grounds. And these were not the usually aloof guards who march absentmindedly, they knew that an intruder had made it inside the castle and had been severely punished because of that. Since using a door would be too obvious, I had to find a new way out.

Climbing up the stairs and being careful to avoid any open areas, I snuck to a north-facing room with an open window and peeked over the windowsill to view the courtyard below. Over a dozen soldiers were patrolling the courtyard below, each one facing another's back in a large circle. It would be close to impossible to get past them all without alerting at least one. Fortunately for me, I wasn't trying to get in the castle.

As I sat, trying to come up with a way to get out, I spotted a pair of bright green eyes staring at me from the darkness. Just as I had noticed her, Bella leapt out from the darkness, play fighting with my hand. I was glad to see her. I'd known that she was going to show up somehow. She always had the best timing.

An idea came to mind as I scratched the cat's belly. I didn't have to worry about climbing out of a window or avoiding the guards' patrol paths. I just needed to not be recognized. It was about the time that the servants would be running around to deliver supper to the nobles in the castle, as well as the soldiers, so the servants' quarters would be almost completely empty.

Scooping up Bella, I crept back down to where Hazel and I had separated and listened closely. Just past the doorway, I could faintly hear two voices. Holding Bella up to my face, I tried to tell her everything that I wanted to do with my mind, but all she did was meow at me. Praying in my heart, I set the cat down and watched as she ran down towards where I heard the voices. She stopped a short distance down the hall as the voices grew louder and two little girls stepped into the hall, fawning over the kitten. One of the girls picked her up and the two quickly left down the hall.

Relying on the memory of how I'd arrived there previously, I made my way to the servants' quarters, but this time, I turned to the mens and found the room to be empty.

Quickly, I stripped off all of my clothes and borrowed a set of clothes from one of the chests nearby, storing my nicer clothes inside my storage ring. They were a bit large, but they did their job. Next was my hair. Most people recognized me because of how I shared the same hair color with my father, so I had to do something about it. Beside every bunk were multiple pairs of muddied boots. I'd found one pair with wet enough dirt that I was able to scoop it off and rub it into my hair. I couldn't see it, but I hoped that the mud had colored my hair enough that I was unrecognizable.

As I finished wiping the mud onto the pants I was wearing, a pair of footsteps sounded from the doorway. I turned to see a couple of men, presumably back early from supper. They were chatting about something, completely ignoring my presence.

I turned and quickly left the two men behind, immediately coming face to face with a cat as Bella leapt onto my head. Repositioning herself onto my shoulder, the cat turned and hissed toward she had leapt from. The two girls who had taken Bella before were standing a short distance away. They were both looking at me with accusing glares. One of the girls started forward but stopped as Bella hissed and pawed at the air. Sad and dejected, the two girls dropped their heads and stalked away, dragging their feet.

Hurrying, I left the kitchens through the back door. A short distance away, a simple wooden cart was loaded with sacks and crates and looked ready to go. I'd made it just in time.

Looking around for Hazel, I discovered her standing a short distance from the cart with two familiar figures standing in her way. The two girls that I'd managed to spook off before were causing trouble again. Unlike before, however, Hazel was standing tall. Even from as far away as I was standing, I could see the resolve in her eyes.

Not wanting anything to draw attention to our escape, I rushed over. "What's going on?" I asked as non-threateningly as I could.

The two girls were startled, but Hazel was visibly surprised.

The girls turned around, glaring at me.

"This is none of your business." One of the girls announced rudely.

"Yeah, get lost." The other added, stepping closer to me.

These girls were really brave to do something like this. I didn't know all the details, but causing problems like this could result in severe punishment.

"I'd like to ask why nobody here is doing their job?" I threatened. They had no way of recognizing me, so they had no idea what I was capable of. "Maybe I should tell someone about this?"

The girls sneered at me and stormed off.

Watching the girls go, Hazel let out a deep sigh.

"It's a good thing we're going. Or you'd be in trouble." Hazel whispered, relieved.

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"Those girls are not indentured like the rest of us. They're the daughters of the head maid." She explained, noticeably irritated.

"If you'd mentioned something before, I could have done something about it." I explained.

"That's alright. That would have most likely put a target on me. Not everyone liked the idea of me having connections." She explained, reassuring me. "If I could get Madame Gath fired, then I could be a threat to everyone else."

Something like that had never crossed my mind. It was good that I had Hazel with me. She could see the outcomes of a lot of decisions. It was especially helpful during our planning. I could come up with a way to get out, but she would easily see the flaws and how it would turn out badly.

"Is everything ready?" I asked. I didn't see any signs that she was still carrying mother.

"Yes." She responded immediately. "Your mother is safely in the cart, and I have the extra food stored as well."

We could finally leave.

"Why did those girls come out here to bother you?" I asked, curious.

Hazel sighed and answered. "They were trying to get me in trouble. They heard that you had called for me again and told me that they would have me punished if they didn't get to go next time."

"What did you do?" I asked. These girls were getting on my nerves. If I had the opportunity, they'd be the ones being punished.

"Nothing. I stood still and didn't answer them." She explained, shrugging. "They usually leave after a while."

"Well, if everything is accounted for, then let's get going." I finished, eager to leave.

The cart was scheduled to leave just minutes from now. Everything had been loaded and checked, so nobody paid it any attention, giving us the opportunity to climb into the cart. Hazel had been careful to prepare a small pocket inside the cart for us to hide in. We were surrounded by crates and covered by sacks, so we were completely obscured from view. Feeling around, I found my mother's invisible body and removed the invisibility ring from her finger. Seeing her sleep peacefully inside this cramped space almost made me laugh. She was like this because of the poison, but the idea that someone could sleep after being hauled around like she had been was funny to me.

After a few short moments, we could feel the cart shake as someone mounted it. Then the whole cart jerked forward before moving steadily. We were finally leaving. It had taken so much effort and planning, and it all worked out in the end.

The cart rolled forward for nearly half an hour before coming to a slow stop. We must have arrived at our destination. Peering through the cracks between the sacks, I could see the roofs of short buildings illuminated by the evening sun. The cart shook again as the cart's driver got off. A moment later, I heard a door open and the muffled sound of people speaking before the voices faded behind the door.

"We're here." Hazel announced as she wriggled her way out of our little pocket.

After we all had gotten out of the cart, I took a moment to take in my surroundings. We were in a narrow pathway beside a church. The ground was a mixture of stone and hard dirt. Some roads had been completely paved, but those were the main roads that led to important places in the capital. Seeing it all again made me nostalgic. I knew exactly where we were. We were near the middle of the south-western part of the city, just outside of the outer ring where the poor lived.

As I hefted my mother over my shoulder, Hazel pulled out the large burlap sack that contained the food that she had prepared for us. I pulled the food into my storage ring and grabbed Hazel's hand.

"Stay close to me. You don't want to get lost after getting this far." I said with a smile.

It was refreshing to be back in the city. It was where I felt the most at home. Nights tormenting the guards and getting chased. They never caught me since I knew the streets like the back of my hand. That knowledge was paramount to our situation. The symbol of the Sunbird. I knew exactly where I had seen it before.

We walked for another several minutes before coming upon the building that I remembered from my youth: the Sunbird Inn. It was a relatively cheap inn, despite its appearance. That didn't change our financial situation, though. My mother and I stayed with an old widow who let us live there as long as mother worked with her to wash clothes. The woman was nice. She was appreciative of the extra food that I would sometimes come home with, though she warned me to be careful. She was the one who instilled the love of cats in me. She would often feed the stray cats in the street, even though she barely had enough food for herself.

Hazel opened the door for me to enter and I felt a wave of warm air rush over me. Stepping into the building felt like stepping into a new life.

"Oy, no animals!" A man shouted at me from the bar.

He was obviously referring to the lazy cat that I was holding in my free arm. I had come too far to leave anyone behind, and Bella would definitely run off if I left her out here by herself.

"It's alright." A man spoke from not too far away. He was seated at a table. "He's with me."

The bartender nodded his head quickly and turned to his other business.

My whole body went numb the moment I saw the man at the table. He was quite tall with long, sandy blond hair and cerulean blue eyes. He stood from his seat and walked over to where I was standing and smiled as he looked down on me.

"You didn't keep me waiting long. Your sister certainly wasn't lying when she said that you had a lot of potential." The man spoke.

The man in front of me was one of Faria's closest friends. He was captain of the royal guard: Major Callum Claude.